My recommendation is to not box your gown unless it meets the carry-on requirements or you check with the airlines to assure that they will put it in baggage at the gate. Checking your gown like luggage is too risky.

A convenient method I have employed is to use a mans suit hanger or wide drapery hanger and a 60" garment bag (Margaret's sells a breathable bag designed for just this purpose, our 60" travel garment bag). I recommend you carry your dress on the plane. Be the last to put something into the overhead and the first to take it down.

Please contact our bridal coordinator at (866) 454-2375 for detailed packaging instructions. If we are pressing your gown prior to the wedding we would be glad to provide this complimentary packaging service for you.

That is an excellent question...we don't often consider what types of things that can happen to suitcases or what our luggage can pick up at an airport, from other luggage on a plane, or in a hotel room. Chuck Horst was one of several who contributed to an artical in Budget Travel called "The Neat Freak's Guide to a Clean Suitcase". It should provide all the slightly ideas you need when you consider whether or not to clean and what to do when a spill happens.